This week saw some thrilling games, plenty of goals from Aussies, and a huge upset win in the Sun Belt for one Aussie that really shook things up in that particular conference. Colorado kept their perfect conference record intact, but Kahlia Hogg unfortunately went down injured early in the Buffaloes’ first match of the weekend and did not return for their second game.
Stanford v UCLA had all the makings of an absolute heartstopper on paper, and the game didn’t disappoint as fans were treated to an overtime thriller. With both teams dropping points in their first games of the weekend, the pressure was on to secure a result and keep pace with the leaders in the Pac-12. Amber Munerlyn opened the scoring for UCLA in the 12th minute, but recent US National Team call-up Andi Sullivan equalised just 90 seconds later. Michelle Xiao put Stanford ahead just after the hour mark, but Canadian Olympian Jessie Fleming would equalize for UCLA yet again just 4 minutes from time. Teagan Micah made six saves for UCLA, but in the end Beattie Goad would be the Aussie celebrating as Maddie Bauer managed to tuck home the winner for Stanford after a scramble from a corner. The win keeps Stanford just 3 points off the pace in the Pac-12, whilst UCLA sit 5 points off leaders Colorado.
Murray State needed to win twice this weekend to keep themselves atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings, and with a lot of help from Harriet Withers and Nyomi Devine, they did exactly that. Nyomi tallied the assist on the Racers’ only goal in their 1-0 win over Tennessee Tech, before Harriet Withers whipped home a free kick to put Murray State ahead against Eastern Kentucky, with the Racers going on to win 3-0.
Wyoming came into the weekend sitting just shy of .500, with a 5-6-1 mark. That all changed with two victories that took the Cowgirls to a 7-6-1 record and extended their winning streak to three games. Alisha Bass was the star amongst the five Aussies in Laramie. Playing in a more advanced role than her usual defensive position, Alisha tallied an assist in a 4-2 win over Air Force, and then headed home a goal in a 2-0 win over Colorado College as Wyoming moved up to 7th in the Mountain West Conference.
South Alabama had not lost a conference game in 3 seasons, with 33 opponents coming and going in that time. Enter Alexandra Huynh and Troy. In their only game of the week, the Trojans scored in the 7th minute and then hung on for dear life as South Alabama unleashed 13 shots. But Alexandra and the Troy defence ensured that only 5 of those shots would end up on target, and with Mikki Lewis resembling a brick wall in front of the net, Troy emerged with a massive upset win against their in-state rivals. The win also lifted Troy off the bottom of the Sun Belt standings, and they now sit just two points behind a logjam of six teams tied for 3rd.
Paige Hayward has been at the top of her game for most of the season so far, and little changed in a pair of wins for Texas Southern. Paige wrapped up the scoring on both occasions for the Tigers, who defeated Mississippi Valley State 3-1 before knocking off Alcorn State 3-0 in their second game of the week to keep pace with Howard at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings.
Player Of The Year Points:
3: Alisha Bass (Wyoming)
2: Paige Hayward (Texas Southern)
1: Harriet Withers (Murray State)
Complete Results:
Massachusetts (Laura Johns)
This week: lost 2-1 to George Mason (OT); lost 2-0 to George Washington
Laura Johns did not feature against George Mason, but played 27 minutes off the bench against George Washington.
Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)
This week: defeated Oregon 3-1; defeated Oregon State 3-0
Kahlia Hogg was forced off after just 5 minutes against Oregon and did not return for the game against Oregon State. Isobel Dalton did not feature against Oregon, but came off the bench to play 27 minutes in the win over Oregon State.
Albany (Claire Urquhart)
This week: defeated Binghamton 1-0; drew 2-2 with Hartford
Claire Urquhart did not feature for Albany in either game this week.
Stanford (Beattie Goad)
This week: lost 3-0 to USC; defeated UCLA 3-2 (OT)
Beattie Goad started both games for Stanford this week, playing 83 minutes against USC and 56 minutes in the win over UCLA.
Indiana (Julia De Angelis)
This week: drew 1-1 with Penn State; drew 2-2 with Rutgers
Julia De Angelis started both games for Indiana this week, with her minutes increasing markedly this week as the freshman continues to make progress since her return from injury.
USC (Lulu Pullar)
This week: defeated Stanford 3-0; lost 1-0 to California
Lulu Pullar did not feature for USC this week.
LSU (Caitlin Cantill)
This week: lost 3-1 to Tennessee; lost 3-0 to Georgia
Caitlin Cantrill did not play against Tennessee, but came off the bench against Georgia to play part of the first half and the entire second half.
UCLA (Teagan Micah)
This week: drew 1-1 with California; lost 3-2 to Stanford (OT)
Teagan Micah played two complete games for UCLA this week, making five saves against California and six saves in the loss to Stanford.
Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)
This week: defeated Tennessee Tech 1-0; defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-0
Nyomi Devine played two complete games this week, and also tallied an assist on the only goal in the win over Tennessee Tech. Harriet Withers played 66 minutes against Tennessee Tech, tallying four shots, before registering a superb goal from a free kick as well as an assist against Eastern Kentucky.
Wyoming (Alisha Bass, Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle, Georgia Rowntree, Candace Sciberras)
This week: defeated Air Force 4-2; defeated Colorado College 2-0
Georgia Rowntree played two complete games this week, but made just the one save, against Colorado College. Alisha Bass played 82 minutes against Air Force, tallying an assist on Summer Halle’s hat-trick goal, before heading home a goal of her own against Colorado College in a 75 minute effort. Annika Clayton tallied an assist against Air Force on the game-tying goal, and played 41 minutes off the bench against Colorado College in her return from a concussion sustained a few weeks ago. Jessie Gentle came off the bench in both games, playing 15 minutes on each occasion.
Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)
This week: lost 1-0 to Oklahoma State; lost 1-0 to Baylor
Demi Koulizakis did not feature for Texas Tech in either game this week.
East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)
This week: defeated UNC Greensboro 1-0; defeated VMI 3-0
Isabel Hodgson played 74 minutes against UNC Greensboro, registering two shots. Isabel came off the bench on Senior Day against VMI, playing 67 minutes and setting up Thomai Vardali for East Tennessee State’s third goal.
Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)
This week: defeated College of Charleston 3-0; drew 1-1 with UNC Wilmington
Emma Heckenberg started both games for Drexel this week, playing 82 minutes against College of Charleston and 65 minutes against UNC Wilmington.
Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)
This week: defeated VMI 1-0; lost 1-0 to UNC Greensboro
Kate Swartwout started both games for Western Carolina this week as the Catamounts split their games.
Hofstra (Emily Hulbert)
This week: defeated Elon 3-1; lost 1-0 to William & Mary
Emily Hulbert finally made her return from a foot injury sustained over a month ago, starting both games and playing a total of 107 minutes across the weekend.
Southeast Missouri State (Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)
This week: lost 2-1 to Jacksonville State (OT); drew 0-0 with Belmont
Maddy Cornell came off the bench in both games, playing 57 minutes against Jacksonville State and 43 minutes against Belmont, but Siena Senatore did not feature this week.
Nicholls State (Jess Coates, Kristy Helmers)
This week: lost 4-0 to McNeese State
Jess Coates and Kristy Helmers both started for Nicholls State. Jess played 79 minutes whilst Kristy put in a 50 minute shift.
Troy (Alexandra Huynh)
This week: defeated South Alabama 1-0
Alexandra Huynh played the full 90 minutes for Troy in a massive upset win over South Alabama.
Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)
This week: defeated Mississippi Valley State 3-1; defeated Alcorn State 3-0
Paige Hayward played 69 minutes against Mississippi Valley State, scoring Texas Southern’s third goal, before tallying the Tigers’ final goal against Alcorn State.
Texas (Monique Iannella)
This week: defeated Kansas State 2-0
Monique Iannella played the full 90 minutes for Texas in their victory, also tallying a shot.
Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)
This week: lost 3-0 to Santa Clara; lost 1-0 to San Francisco
Ellie Papalexiou did not feature this week as she continues to recover from an injury.
San Francisco (Price Keogh)
This week: defeated Saint Mary’s 2-0; defeated Pacific 1-0
Price Keogh did not feature against Saint Mary’s, but played 54 minutes against Pacific, 6 more than her combined total minutes for the rest of the season.
Winthrop (Jai Jackson)
This week: lost 3-2 to Campbell
Jai Jackson started in defence for Winthrop and played all 102 minutes in the overtime loss.
Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)
This week: defeated Wagner 1-0
Sam Roff started for Wagner and played all 90 minutes in the win, tallying a shot.
Hi Lachy, Wanted to let you know that Siena is overcoming an injury and has since the start of the conference. Hopefully she gets a run soon.
Thanks again for all your updates. Also Ally Cook from Canberra is in the States. Keep an eye out for her.
Regards Lella Senatore
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